Rwanda-backed rebels have killed at least 80 civilians in recent weeks, Congolese authorities say

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Rwanda-backed rebels have killed at least 80 people in eastern Congo in recent weeks, Congolese authorities said, despite the ongoing Qatar-led peace process aiming to end the conflict.

A decades-long conflict ravaging eastern Democratic Republic of Congo escalated earlier this year when the M23 rebel group seized two key cities with the help of neighboring Rwandan forces. Congo has long been wracked by deadly conflict in its mineral-rich east, with more than 100 armed groups active.

The continuing violence could threaten the efforts to get Congo and the rebels to sign a permanent peace deal by Aug. 18 as hoped for. One of the deal’s conditions is the protection of civilians and the safe return of millions of displaced people.

The Congolese army said in a statement late Friday that it is “fiercely condemning” what it described as a series of mass murders of civilians in South Kivu. It said that 80 people were killed on Aug. 4 in the village of Nyaborongo, and that six civilians, including two minors, were murdered on July 24 in the village of Lumbishi.

It blamed the the RDF/M23-AFC coalition, which includes the rebel groups M23 and AFC backed by the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF).

“In addition to this excessive criminality, the M23/AFC is engaged in the forced recruitment of young people, including minors, to join their illegal organization,” the statement said.

There was no immediate comment from M23. When asked for a comment, the Rwandan foreign minister Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe told The Associated Press that he could not comment on “any stupidity coming from DRC,” using the acronym of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Earlier this month, the U.N. human rights chief said that M23 killed 319 people over the past month in a different part of the region, describing the toll as one of the largest documented of such attacks since the M23 rebels resurfaced in 2022.

Citing firsthand accounts, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said in a statement that the rebels, backed by members of the Rwandan Defense Force, targeted four villages in North Kivu province’s Rutshuru territory between July 9 and July 21.

M23 denied the accusations and called the U.N. statement “unverified and politically motivated.”

“These allegations constitute a blatant manipulation of the facts, a violation of basic principles of impartiality, and a serious attack on the credibility of U.N. institutions,” said Lawrence Kanyuka, the spokesperson for the Congo River Alliance, an umbrella organization which includes M23. “We call for the opening of an independent investigation and hope that the organizations that published this report can participate in it.”

The two sides on July 19 signed a declaration of principles in Qatar to end the fighting and commit to a comprehensive peace agreement that would include the restoration of state authorities in key eastern cities controlled by the insurgents.

___

Associated Press writer Ignatius Ssuuna contributed to this report from Kigali, Rwanda.